Hi, Carla...   yeah,,, everyone has to go at their own pace.. some are faster and some are slower,, and some Steps take more time than others.  What I did was to read all the Steps first,, and that way I got an overview of the whole thing.  You can read them and think a little,,, and still do them each at your own pace.

I'm glad you're choosing your Step 5 person carefully. If you have questions or comments about a Step that we are not currently on, feel free to private message either Dot or me,, k? 

I'm still learning about the Steps myself,,, each time I go through them there seems to be another level...  I hear some people say,,,  'keep coming and more will be revealed'. 

God bless you,

love in recovery,

amanda

my sponsor told me very clearly,, that the part"humbly asked Him' meant acknowledging I cant do it on my own,,,

just as I couldnt cotrol my using once i started,, and then realized i could  stop  even if i wanted to ,, the same applies in terms of the various shortcomings(crazinessess ???)

that wreck havoc on our recovery !!!

so what did I have to do ???vTake supprot on this too and do one thing at a time and my sponsor and I worked out how we would stop using certain behaviour that caused pain !!!

one of the first things i did was to get onto vegetarian food like my sponsor( but not a compulsory thing to do in order to recover).

So on a daily basis I became veg,, and continue to be so even after about 7 years or so..

i became willing to give up meat simply because I came to believe that i could do without it,,, like i did with drugs and alcohol and later cigarettes !!!

then there was behaviours like temper tantrums,dishonest dealings,gossip laced with malicious intent are a few of the defect areas Ive been working on and now its a pleasure to live freee of em !!!

Thanks for letting em share and please remember that to each his or her own,,,, including issues like vegetarianism,tobacco non use etc !!!

I was using those personal examples just to illustrate how ell the Seventh Step has worked in  my life !!!

Raman an addict

clean and serene just for today in the 12 Step Tradition  NA !!!

Hi everyone. I am not new to Al-anon I have been around for 14 years. I go to step meetings. Step seven" humbly asked him to remove our shortcomings." I need to accept that I do need my higher powers help in letting go of the character defects that I have had for so long. One of my shortcomings was wanting to be in control of everyone.  another one is being obssed with wanting things to be done my way. working steps 3 thru 6 got me ready to get rid of these shortcommings. I no longer have to be in control of everything and I am feeling so much better. I know my kids and grandkids have to make their own mistakes in order to learn.  I ask God for his help before I jump in where I am not needed and now I can work on my other shortcomings.

Hi Amanda !!!

thanks for the warm welcome !!!

MMMMMM Peggy,,, thats interesting what you say=

""""obssessed with wanting things to be done my way""""""

thats a great clue,,, to know what upsets me,,, however take heart that we live in a world of fools and sometimes even when we give wise,caring counsel or share what worked wwell for us,, we will be snubbed,ridiculed etc !!!

However there are areas of responsiblity invested in me where i cannot allow others to run the show,,, these times i try to stay open minded to good suggestions !!!

Keep Coming back !!!